Fiji 37 United States 21

Date:  30 Jun 2000
Venue:  Apia
Attendance:  Not Recorded
Referee:  Hyde-lay i.

Despite playing at the neutral Apia, Fiji managed to record their third win in the 2000 Epson Cup as they defeated the United States 37-21.

The Fijians showed their finishing ability with four tries for maximum tournament points, while the USA, who lost their unbeaten record, managed just two.

Despite the set-back USA head coach Duncan Hall was upbeat:  "We played very positively.  We actually used the ball a lot better than Fiji which is a great credit to the guys.  We had our chances, but unfortunately there were a few mistakes as well."

Fiji were first out of the blacks, fullback Kameli Natoba raced in for a converted try in the opening minutes although Eagles answered quickly with a 35m Well's penalty kick.  Then the USA pack established pressure inside the Fijian 22m, and scrumhalf Kevin Dalzell put through a grubber kick that was mishandled by Fiji's defense, allowing USA No.8 Olo Fifita to regather and score on his debut.

While the USA had an edge in possession through most of the first half, helped by a couple of lineout steals, an isolated turnover was all the Fijians needed to spring Crusaders pace-man Marika Vunibaka for a 50m romp to make it a 14-8 margin mid-way thorugh the half.

Two more penalties from Grant Wells versus one from Fiji made it 17-14 nearing halftime.  Fiji then punished a momentary defensive lapse, crossing in the corner with about three minutes to play in the period.

After the break, the team's were deadlocked for nearly 20 minutes, until Fiji stand-off Nicky Little added a penalty and then converted the fourth Fijian try to take control of the match.  But the Eagles weren't done and an attacking lineout saw lock Philippe Farner driven to the line and then stretch out for the team's second try.

"I thought the forward pack played well," noted Hall.  "The tight five were solid."  Hall made four forward changes in the second half, subbing out both Fifita and Farner with injuries and two in the front row.

Robbie Flynn came in at hooker and prop Mike MacDonald earned his first cap in relief of Joe Clayton.  Tighthead prop Ray Lehner--a late change to the USA line-up after John McBride became ill -- played the full match.

Aided by the fresh legs, the Eagles pressured Fiji's line again inside the last ten minutes with hopes of narrowing the gap and taking at least a bonus point out of the match.  The Fijians not only withstood the pressure but created breathing space with a penalty at the death.

"The guys were disappointed, but I told them to keep their heads up," coach Hall said.  "We really took the game to Fiji.  If we can do that against Tonga, it'll be good."

Scotland 20 New Zealand 69

All Black power rolled all over Scotland on Saturday as the tourists conceded a record 11 tries as New Zealand won the first Test 69-20 at Carisbrook.

They have already been described as the Awesome All Blacks.  They are far more than that, but no adjective can truly describe them.  If their performance in the victory over Tonga last week saw the adulation pour in, then the mauling of Scotland left their supporters and critics speechless.

The 11 tries that they scored were phenomenal for more than one reason.  Firstly it is the most tries ever conceded by Scotland -- with the Springboks having touched down 10 times against the Scots in 1997.

But most importantly for the Kiwis is the quality of the rugby they produced in scoring those tries, a quality that will cause many of their opponents this year to have nightmares.

When coach Wayne Smith appointed Todd Blackadder as captain, it was regarded as a masterstroke.  The real "masterstroke" is the manner in which he has transformed their game into a means by which to destroy their opponents with exhilarating rugby.

After the games Todd Blackadder was delighted with the result:  "We backed up our effort of last week and although we had several new players we gelled well.  We have been putting work into our scrum and I think we scrummed well."

"We knew we would have to vary our lineouts but we worked on our options and they came off well," he added.

And it is that famous back three, Christian Cullen, Tana Umaga en Jonah Lomu, which ran like proverbial steam engines through the Scottish defenders.

Let's give the visitors credit.  They continued to try their utmost throughout and were rewarded for their steadfast attitude with two fine tries in the final five minutes.  And their defence was sturdy for most part, but simply not good enough to stop this black juggernaut.

Scottish skipper Andy Nichol, who proved highly effective in getting Lomu to ground at times, said:  "You can't afford to give a team of the All Blacks quality turnover ball.  In the first half all we had to do was keep the ball for one or two more phases and the holes might have appeared.

"But in the second half we committed second, third or fourth rate tackles.  "We didn't do particularly well with our scrums and hopefully we can put this right before the second test," he said.

Former Scottish great Gavin Hastings said Scotland performed well for the first 20 or 30 minutes.  "But the All Blacks kept pounding and pounding away and while Scotland scored two tries the game was well and truly over by then."

The All Blacks' approach to rugby this year can probably best be described by the start to this test.  From the kick-off the ball was carried in hand for an astonishing one minute and 28 seconds even though the Scots managed to gain control at some stage.  Thereafter the Kiwis for kept the ball in hand about another two minutes, before hooker Anton Oliver in the fourth minute crashed over for the first try.

Even more phenomenal is that the game had already reached the nine minute and 30 seconds mark before the All Black flyhalf, Andrew Mehrtens, kicked the ball for the first time.

The home team at first struggled to find gaps in a very brawny Scottish defence and the visitors even managed to put the All Blacks under enough pressure to force them into giving penalties away.  In fact, after 25 minutes the score was only 7-6 in favour of the Men in Black.  In the subsequent 15 minutes to halftime the New Zealanders of Todd Blackadder scored three tries to turn around at 26-6.

That was a mere appetiser of what was to follow.

Seven tries (no, if fact it was nine, since the Scots also dotted down twice) and 40 minutes of exhilarating rugby later and the All Blacks had sent a clear message to the rest of the world:  "We are number one and we aim to prove it this year."

Those detractors who were ready to write the All Blacks off after their disastrous World Cup campaign last year, must now all eat humble pie.

Not just is this All Black pack a very mobile unit, but they do not have to take a step back in the tight facets either.  Scotland's scrum was constantly under pressure.

Man of the match:  Many candidates, but my vote goes to Tana Umaga.  He not just scored two typical bullish tries, but his general game is making him every bit as awesome as Jonah Lomu (another contender).

Villain:  In a game where the penalty count did not even reach double figures, the scrums were also minimal and 13 tries were scored ... you must be joking.  Maybe the clock which signalled the end of a truly wonderful advertisement of rugby union.

Decisive moment(s):  The two tries scored in the 25th and 28th minutes -- by Ron Cribb and Jonah Lomu respectively -- took the stuffing out of the brave Scots.  The score went from 7-6 to 19-6 and the match ended as a contest (not that the Scots seemed to have noticed).

Scotland has a game against Hawke's Bay in Napier on Tuesday before the final test in Auckland on Saturday.

The Teams:

Scotland:  1 Tom Smith, 2 Gordon Bulloch, 3 Barry Stewart, 4 Richard Metcalfe, 5 Scott Murray, 6 Martin Leslie, 7 Jason White, 8 Ross Beattie, 9 Andy Nicol (c), 10 Duncan Hodge, 11 Shaun Longstaff, 12 James McLaren, 13 Gregor Townsend, 14 Craig Moir, 15 Chris Paterson
Reserves:  Iain Fullarton, Craig Joiner, Graham Shiel, Gordon Simpson, Mattie Stewart
Unused:  Graeme Beveridge, Steve Scott

New Zealand:  1 Greg Somerville, 2 Anton Oliver, 3 Carl Hoeft, 4 Todd Blackadder (c), 5 Norm Maxwell, 6 Taine Randell, 7 Scott Robertson, 8 Ron Cribb, 9 Byron Kelleher, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Jonah Lomu, 12 Pita Alatini, 13 Alama Ieremia, 14 Tana Umaga, 15 Christian Cullen
Reserves:  Troy Flavell, Leon MacDonald, Craig Dowd, Mark Hammett, Josh Kronfeld
Unused:  Tony Brown, Justin Marshall

Attendance:  26128
Referee:  Young s.

Points Scorers:

Scotland
Tries:  Metcalfe R. 1, Simpson G.L. 1
Conv:  Hodge D.W. 2
Pen K.:  Hodge D.W. 2

New Zealand
Tries:  Cribb R.Te H. 1, Flavell T.V. 1, Alatini P.P.F. 1, Cullen C.M. 1, Lomu J.T. 3, Oliver A.D. 2, Umaga T.J.F. 2
Conv:  Ieremia A.I. 1, Mehrtens A.P. 7

England 27 South Africa 22

A rock-solid England inspired by a near-faultless Jonny Wilkinson at fly-half dominated South Africa 27-22 at the Free State Stadium to square the two-Test series 1-1.

A last-ditch effort sparked by a controversial Joost van der Westhuizen try could not see South Africa through a heroic England defence in the dying minutes, as the Springboks were left to rue their many infringements punished by penalties.

Twenty-one-year-old England flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson was sublime, scoring all 27 his team's points, with a breathtaking kicking display that included eight penalties and a drop-goal.

Wilkinson who missed out on last week's Test, won 18-13 by the Springboks hardly put a foot wrong during the match, marshalling his backs brilliantly.

The Springboks, however, will have to go back to the drawing board.  Their first-phase possession was woefully inadequate, with referee Stuart Dickenson of Australia warning the South Africans on numerous occasions for infringements on the deck.

The Boks, however, hardly heeded his calls and their indiscipline cost them dearly.  England employed a rock-solid defensive pattern, giving the Springboks very little chance of crossing the line.

The 37,000 strong crowd who braved a chilly Free State evening showed their disapproval of the Boks' display.  The Springboks scored their points through flyhalf Braam van Straaten, who slotted four penalties in the first-half, with Percy Montgomery adding a penalty and a conversion in the second half.

Up until the 80th minute, the Springboks were trailing the tourists 15-27, but former skipper Van der Westhuizen scored a controversial try after the television referee Andre Watson ruled that the scrumhalf had grounded the ball from a ruck on the England line.

Van der Westhuizen's try seemed to put the spark back in the Springboks, who attacked ferociously, but were let down by handling errors and their inability to breach the England defence.

The match was by no means a classic, but was characterised by tough battles among the forwards, with scythe-like defence from both sides.

The win sees England registering their third-only win on South African soil, and very fitting that they should beat the Springboks in Bloemfontein, known as South Africa's City of Roses.

The two-Test series, like the one in 1994, is shared 1-1.

The Teams:

England:  1 Jason Leonard, 2 Phil Greening, 3 Julian White, 4 Danny Grewcock, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 6 Neil Back, 7 Richard Hill, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, 9 Kyran Bracken, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Austin Healey, 12 Mike Catt, 13 Mike Tindall, 14 Ben Cohen, 15 Matt Perry
Reserves:  Simon Shaw, Joe Worsley, David Flatman, Leon Lloyd
Unused:  Will Greenwood, Mark Regan, Tim Stimpson

South Africa:  1 Robbie Kempson, 2 Charl Marais, 3 Cobus Visagie, 4 Selborne Boome, 5 Krynauw Otto, 6 Corne Krige, 7 Andre Venter, 8 Andre Vos (c), 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Braam Van Straaten, 11 Breyton Paulse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Robbie Fleck, 14 Pieter Rossouw, 15 Percy Montgomery
Reserves:  Ollie Le Roux, Chester Williams
Unused:  John Smit, Warren Brosnihan, Japie Mulder, Werner Swanepoel, Albert Van Den Bergh

Referee:  Dickinson s.

Points Scorers:

England
Pen K.:  Wilkinson J.P. 8
Drop G.:  Wilkinson J.P. 1

South Africa
Tries:  Van Der Westhuizen J. 1
Conv:  Montgomery P.C. 1
Pen K.:  Montgomery P.C. 1, Van Straaten A.J.J. 4

Australia 32 Argentina 25

The world champions Australia were pushed all the way by a combative Argentina before winning the second rugby international 32-25 at a freezing Bruce Stadium.

The Australians only led by one point (21-20) with 20 minutes left before winger Stirling Mortlock secured victory with a 68th-minute try out wide.

It was a far cry from the previous Saturday's record 53-6 romp in Brisbane, as the Pumas showcased their famed forward muscle to take the game to the Wallabies.

Australia scored all their three tries via the backs, while the dour Argentinians powered their two tries through pushover tries through the forwards.

It wasn't pretty, but highly effective as the Pumas, led by Roberto Grau and skipper Federico Mendez kept grinding away at the Australian forwards, who had to defend grimly in their own quarter for long periods in the second half.

Puma halfback Agustin Pichot said his team knew the Wallabies' weakness was up front.  "We can't compete with their speed and strength, we need to play a tight game because we know they are not very strong up front and we did that," he said.

"We can be very pleased with what we did in these last three weeks."

The Australian forwards will be without flanker Matt Cockbain (medial ligaments) when they play South Africa in Melbourne in a fortnight.

Skipper John Eales said Saturday's Test was a truer indication of the Argentines -- who reached the quarter finals of last year's World Cup -- than last week's result, but acknowledged the Wallabies had to improve if they were to win their first Tri Nations title against the Springboks and New Zealand this year.

"Obviously, we didn't play our best and we know we have a long way to go before we can have a chance of doing well in the rest of the Test matches this year," Eales said.

Coach Rod Macqueen was disappointed by the scrappy performance but praised the Pumas' forwards who set up two tries from rolling mauls.

"I thought they'd actually done some excellent work on their driving mauls, they were very well structured and continually attacked our guys ... and we couldn't stop them," Macqueen said.

"They shut us down and we had a lot of trouble recouping the ball, we made a lot of mistakes but we also had a lot of penalties against us."

The Wallabies exploded to a 11-0 lead in as many minutes from the kickoff and looked set to reproduce the high-scoring form of the Brisbane Test, before the determined Pumas reeled them in.

Winger Joe Roff scored in the ninth minute after a dazzling interchange of passes across the backline, and Mortlock was in improved goal-kicking touch landing two of his first three kicks after bombing out with all five attempts in Brisbane.

But Argentina hit back after flyhalf Felipe Contepomi kicked a 13th-minute penalty and fullback Ignacio Corletto scored in the 16th minute after a lovely break by Diego Albanese.

The Argentine forwards took the play on and Corletto was shoved over to score.

Contepomi levelled the scores in the 19th-minute with his second penalty goal, before Mortlock nudged the home side ahead with another penalty in the 23rd minute.

Quicksilver fullback Chris Latham, who scored four tries the previous week, stepped through two tackles to score his seventh try in eight Tests and with Mortlock's conversion the Wallabies led 21-14 with seven minutes to halftime.

But Contepomi's fourth kick narrowed the margin to 21-17 at the interval.

The Pumas came out with renewed vigour in the second half and Contepomi narrowed the gap to one point (21-20) in the 53rd minute as Australia wrestled with the relentless Puma forwards.

The Australians, with replacement hooker Jeremy Paul, Eales and flanker David Wilson superb in defence, kept out the Argentinians before Mortlock skipped through Corletto's tackle to score out wide in the 68th-minute.

The Australians appeared safe at 29-20, but again the Pumas came back through another pushover try with skipper Mendez at the heart of it to score to trail 29-25 with eight minutes left.

The Australians strengthened their forwards with three replacements and carried play out of their territory before Mortlock kicked his fifth penalty and a seven-point lead to hold on to full time.

Mortlock finished with 22 points from a try, five penalties and a conversion from eight attempts.

The teams:

Australia:  1 Richard Harry, 2 Michael Foley, 3 Fletcher Dyson, 4 John Eales (c), 5 David Giffin, 6 Matt Cockbain, 7 David Wilson, 8 Jim Williams, 9 George Gregan, 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Dan Herbert, 13 Rod Kafer, 14 Joe Roff, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Mark Connors, Jason Little, Jeremy Paul, Glenn Panoho, David Lyons
Unused:  Elton Flatley, Sam Cordingley

Argentina:  1 Roberto Grau, 2 Federico Mendez, 3 Martin Scelzo, 4 Alejandro Allub, 5 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Rolando Martin, 7 Santiago Phelan, 8 Gonzalo Longo Elia, 9 Agustin Pichot, 10 Felipe Contepomi, 11 Diego Albanese, 12 Lisandro Arbizu (c), 13 Jose Orengo, 14 Octavio Bartolucci, 15 Ignacio Corleto
Reserves:  German Llanes
Unused:  Agustin Canalda, Jose Cilley, Fernando Diaz Alberdi, Martin Durand, Juan Fernandez Miranda, Jose Nunez Piossek

Attendance:  15072
Referee:  Mchugh d.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Latham C.E. 1, Mortlock S.A. 1, Roff J.W.C. 1
Conv:  Mortlock S.A. 1
Pen K.:  Mortlock S.A. 5

Argentina
Tries:  Corletto I. 1, Mendez F.E. 1
Pen K.:  Contepomi F. 5

England 13 South Africa 18

Lucky South Africa held on in a tense finish at Loftus Stadium to defeat England 18-13 after leading 15-10 at half-time in the first of a two-Test series.

Fly-half Braam van Straaten kicked six penalty goals from eight attempts for the Springboks while winger Tim Stimpson converted his fellow wing Dan Luger's try for England and landed two penalties.

England, who held their own in a grim forward battle and displayed more adventure behind the scrum, were unlucky not to be awarded another try 13 minutes into the second half.

Stimpson, a late replacement for the sick Jonny Wilkinson with Austin Healey moving to fly-half, appeared to get a slight touch to the ball over the line, but the television referee ruled otherwise.

There was also the possibility of a penalty try as Stimpson was tackled by South African captain Andre Vos while the ball was in the air, but after consultation with the TV referee, New Zealand referee Colin Hawke awarded a five-metre scrum to South Africa for an English knock-on.

This incident was one of many that went against luckless England with captain Martin Johnson querying a host of first-half penalties awarded for infringements on the ground.

However, one of Johnson's predecessors as captain, inspirational number eight Lawrence Dallaglio, said that England had not deserved to win.

"They deserved to take the match because at this level if you don't take your chances you do not merit the victory," he gracefully admitted.

"The margin between scoring and not converting your chances is very thin and today we were not putting the points on the board that were there for the taking.

"We deserved to lose but we know now that we can beat this team and next time round we should do so if we convert the chances we had today," he added.

South Africa, who have vowed to play a more expansive game this year, were a major disappointment before a capacity 45,150 crowd on an overcast, chilly evening in the Highveld city.

They were, however, disrupted by a series of injuries that, at one stage in the first-half, left them without two of their back row and both centres.

However, only flanker Johan Erasmus was unable to return.  The Springboks had little to offer when it came to flair apart from a couple of half-chances created by pint-size wing Breyton Paulse that soon fizzled out.  Free State Stadium in the central city of Bloemfontein hosts the second Test on June 24 and England will entertain hope of squaring the series judged by this match.

Van Straaten kicked penalties after five and nine minutes to give the Boks a six-point advantage that was halved when Stimpson was on target with his first attempt at goal.

Another couple of successful kicks at goal by the South African fly-half had South Africa 12-3 ahead midway through a first-half that became progressively more untidy.

Erasmus was forced to retire with Corne Krige coming on and a knock on the neck led to centre Robbie Fleck being temporarily replaced by Thinus Delport.

De Wet Barry and Vos also had to leave the field for short periods before half-time.  Amid all the changes, van Straaten added a fifth South African penalty before Luger rounded off sustained English pressure by diving between Barry and Joost van der Westhuizen for a try near the posts.

Hawke sent South African prop Willie Meyer and English hooker Phil Greening to the sin bin just before the end of a first half that lasted 49 minutes because of constant stoppages.

England had more than enough possession to have won the match in the second half, but a 57th-minute Stimpson penalty was the only tangible reward and when Leon Lloyd punched Barry near the end, van Straaten slotted his sixth goal.

Vos hailed his team defensive effort to keep out England in the second half.

"It was very tough up front, it was always going to be a very physical confrontation," said an exhausted Vos.  "Whether we were taking the ball in or were defending, we just had to be rock solid, and we were today so hats off to the guys, they did fantastically," he added.

However, Krige, who deputised as skipper while Vos was temporarily replaced, said the Springboks would have to be more positive in the second test.

"We didn't score a try and they did.  We need to go out there and attack, to keep the ball through phases as we did at the end.  Next week we'll be looking at scoring a few tries", he said.

The Teams:

England:  1 Jason Leonard, 2 Phil Greening, 3 Julian White, 4 Danny Grewcock, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 6 Neil Back, 7 Richard Hill, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, 9 Kyran Bracken, 10 Austin Healey, 11 Dan Luger, 12 Mike Catt, 13 Mike Tindall, 14 Tim Stimpson, 15 Matt Perry
Reserves:  Mark Regan, Simon Shaw, Joe Worsley, David Flatman, Leon Lloyd
Unused:  Martyn Wood, Ben Cohen

South Africa:  1 Robbie Kempson, 2 Charl Marais, 3 Willie Meyer, 4 Selborne Boome, 5 Krynauw Otto, 6 Johan Erasmus, 7 Andre Venter, 8 Andre Vos (c), 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Braam Van Straaten, 11 Breyton Paulse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Robbie Fleck, 14 Pieter Rossouw, 15 Percy Montgomery
Reserves:  Thinus Delport, Corne Krige, Ollie Le Roux, Albert Van Den Bergh, Chester Williams
Unused:  John Smit, Dan Van Zyl

Referee:  Hawke c.

Points Scorers:

England
Tries:  Luger D.D. 1
Conv:  Stimpson T.R.G. 1
Pen K.:  Stimpson T.R.G. 2

South Africa
Pen K.:  Van Straaten A.J.J. 6

Ireland 27 Canada 27

Despite scoring three tries in the first half, Canada could not hold onto a 13 point half time lead, allowing Ireland to fashion a 27-27 draw in the final match of the Irish tour of the America's.

Canada's Scott Stewart scored 17 points including a penalty late in the game to give Canada a 27-24 lead with ten minutes to go, but it was Ronan O' Gara's penalty in injury time that preserved a 27-27 draw for Ireland.

Canada opened the scoring in the first minute with a Winston Stanley try, after the fullback scooped a low pass from Kyle Nichols and scampered under the posts.  Scott Stewart converted to give Canada a 7-0 lead.

Irish fly-half David Humphreys scored his only points of the match with an 18 metre penalty at the six minute mark to narrow the Canadian lead to four.

Number 8 Phil Murphy, playing in only his fourth international had a rollicking run from 8 metres out, charging over the try line for his second test try.  Stewart converted to put Canada ahead 14-3.

Irish wing Shane Horgan scored a beautiful try, the result of a Kevin Magg's pass that put him into the corner.  Humphreys missed the conversion to make it 14-8 Canada.

The try of the match came after Morgan Williams fed the ball to Stewart who passed to flanker Gregor Dixon, who after a big inside out move, flicked it back to Stewart who chipped and recovered for the try that brought the capacity crowd of 6,000 to their feet.

Ireland responded with two second half tries including a huge 70 metre effort from Justin Bishop who scooped a Canadian knock on and galloped untouched, flanked only by speedy Canadian second row John Tait.  Replacement Paul Wallace scored the other try, following a hard charge up the middle that had Canada defending on their back foot.

But it as the sure footed kicking of Ronan O'Gara, who took over for Humphreys that preserved the tie for Ireland.  With Canada leading 27-24 following Scott Stewart second penalty of the second half, O'Gara slotted a 24 metre penalty at the 79 minute mark to even the tally.

Canada pressed hard in the final minutes but could not manage a shot at goal before referee Joel Dume blew full time.

Canadian team coach David Clark, while disappointed they did not come away with the win, still was pleased with a tie.

"We're just as comfortable with the draw, as Warren Gatland would be with his team.  He may not be happy with it, but it's a very good result for a damn good game of rugby."

Ireland coach Warren Gatland, thought that Ireland were fortunate to come away with the tie after Canada put such a solid first half together.

"I thought the second half we played extremely well.  We didn't play well at all in the first half, and in fairness to Canada they played very well.  They defended well, they took their opportunities, and unbelievably committed and gutsy performance from the Canadians.  I've got to take my hat off to them, I thought they played really well," said the New Zealander, who led his team to a 1-1-1 tour of the Americas, the only win being an 83-3 thumping of the USA last week.

Man of the Match:  Scott Stewart in only his fourth match as flyhalf for Canada kicked from the hand and at goal like he has been there for years.  His 17 points on three conversions, two penalties and a try were the key to the Canadian success.

Villain of the Match:  The soft pitch, made soggy after a solid week of rain, made what could have been extraordinary plays late in the game missteps instead.

Key Play of the Game:  The 7's like moves of Canadian flanker Gregor Dixon in his first full test as he made space for Scott Stewart on the chip through try.  Dixon will make good use of his 7's prowess in the 15's game.

The Teams:

Ireland:  1 John Hayes, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 Justin Fitzpatrick, 4 Jeremy Davidson, 5 Mick Galwey, 6 Simon Easterby, 7 Andy Ward, 8 Anthony Foley, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 David Humphreys, 11 Shane Horgan, 12 Mike Mullins, 13 Kevin Maggs, 14 Justin Bishop, 15 Dominic Crotty
Reserves:  Bob Casey, Guy Easterby, Eric Miller, Paul Wallace, Geordan Murphy, Ronan O'Gara
Unused:  Frankie Sheahan

Canada:  1 Rod Snow, 2 Pat Dunkley, 3 John Thiel, 4 Ed Knaggs, 5 John Tait, 6 Ryan Banks, 7 Gregor Dixon, 8 Phil Murphy, 9 Morgan Williams, 10 Scott Stewart, 11 Sean Fauth, 12 Kyle Nichols, 13 Nik Witkowski, 14 Mark Irvine, 15 Winston Stanley
Reserves:  Dan Baugh, Duane Major
Unused:  Nick Milau, Kevin Tkachuk, Harry Toews, Jason Verstraten

Attendance:  6,000
Referee:  Joel Dume (France)

Points Scorers:

Ireland
Tries:  Horgan S. 1, Wallace P.S. 1, Bishop J.P. 1
Pen K.:  Humphreys D.G. 1, O'Gara R. 3

Canada
Tries:  Murphy P. 1, Stewart D.S. 1, Stanley W.U. 1
Conv:  Stewart D.S. 3
Pen K.:  Stewart D.S. 2

Australia 53 Argentina 6

Fullback Chris Latham scored four tries as the world champions Australia kicked off their international season with a 53-6 win over Argentina at Ballymore.

The Queensland faithful had come to say farewell Tim Horan and David Wilson, two of Queensland and Australia's greatest players of the past decade.  But by the end, the Ballymore crowd saluted a new hero in four-try fullback Chris Latham.

Latham turned on a superb exhibition of fullback play as the Wallabies clinically destroyed the South Americans 53-6 in a mere stroll at Queensland Rugby Union headquarters.

Latham, Australia's Super 12 player of the year, bedazzled the Pumas' defence with his flair, panache and deception, and showed what a great support-player can achieve when his nose follows the ball.

Latham opened the scoring after just 22 seconds and was still at it in the shadows of full-time, when he crossed for his fourth and the Wallabies' final try.

But despite the Australians' impressive opening, Argentina almost struck back immediately when the forwards surged across the tryline, only to see their efforts disallowed by the video referee.  Horan then forced to make a try-saving tackle on Pumas centre Diego Giannantonio just millimetres from the line.

The Pumas continued to trouble the Australians in the early skirmishes, showing a considerable amount of dash and flair.  But the green and gold defence held on.

New flyhalf Jose Cilley, stepping in for unavailable match-winner Gonzalo Quesada, had a horror match, missing two easy kicks in front of the posts and suffering the ignominy of having a clearing kick charged down by marauding Wallaby flanker Matt Cockbain inside his own quarter.  As memorable as the match was for Latham, it will be an evening Cilley won't forget in a hurry either, albeit for different reasons.

Scottish referee Jim Fleming earned his keep, sending three Argentines to the sin-bin, the first being winger Octavio Bartolucci, who earned the ire of the crowd when he dumped Latham as the Wallaby fullback leapt high to defuse a bomb.  Bartolucci was fortunate not to receive a red card.

In Bartolucci's absence Joe Roff scored a try in the left-hand corner, when Daniel Herbert busted the Pumas' midfield.  The Reds' centre held up the ball for a straight-running Latham, who spun wide to Horan.  Horan gave the final pass to Roff who scampered across the line untouched.

Five minutes later, Herbert scored after great leadup work by Latham and eighthman Jim Williams.  But on a touch judges report, the try was disallowed and instead Cilley landed a simple penalty goal to bridge the gap to seven points.

But from the ensuing kickoff, the Pumas forwards suffered an embarrassing lapse in concentration when they didn't contest possession on the assumption the ball wouldn't reach 10 metres.  It did, and Roff streaked away like a startled rabbit before feeding replacement Mark Connors, looming up on his inside.  Australia 15 Argentina 3.

The Wallabies then had another try disallowed when Fleming called Connors back for a forward pass from Latham.  But touch judge Paddy O'Brien gave the Australians some respite when he advised Fleming of foul play by Puma skipper Lisandro Aribizu and winger Diego Albanese on Wallaby halfback George Gregan.  The duo was lucky to escape with a caution and Australia went to the break ahead by 15-3.

The Australians continued the second half in the same vein as the first, when eighthman Jim Williams showed his excellent support skills to score twice in the space of seven minutes for a handy 25-6 lead.

Argentina's nightmare continued when Cilley missed another simple place kick at goal, then in rapid succession, front rowers Martin Scelzo and Fernando Diaz were despatched to the sin bin for reckless rucking and a professional foul respectively.

Further tries to Roff and three more to Latham completed the scoring on an inspiring evening that three Reds will never forget.

Horan and Wilson bowed out in fine style, while 24 year-old Latham was the shooting star in a superb season-opening team performance.

While there's always room for improvement, coach Rod Macqueen should be a happy man.

Man of the match:  Brilliant Reds fullback Chris Latham just couldn't do anything wrong.  On a golden evening he not only scored four superb tries but he also carved the Pumas' defence apart at will and tormented them with his fancy feet and explosive speed.  A real crowd pleaser, Latham has the skill to become one of Australia's greatest fullbacks.

Moment of the match:  The cacophony of noise generated by the crowd for departing veterans Tim Horan and David Wilson.  Crammed to its 20 000 capacity, Ballymore provided the perfect backdrop for two of the most talented and humble footballers the state has produced.

Villain of the match:  Argentina's indiscipline saw three players despatched to the sin bin and it could have been worse as the South Americans lost the plot and their heads as the scoreline extended beyond their reach.  Coach Loffreda has a job on his hands to get his team up for the second international at Canberra in seven days' time.

The teams:

Australia:  1 Richard Harry, 2 Michael Foley, 3 Fletcher Dyson, 4 John Eales (c), 5 David Giffin, 6 Matt Cockbain, 7 David Wilson, 8 Jim Williams, 9 George Gregan, 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Dan Herbert, 13 Tim Horan, 14 Joe Roff, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Mark Connors, Rod Kafer, Jason Little, Jeremy Paul, Glenn Panoho, Sam Cordingley, David Lyons

Argentina:  1 Fernando Diaz Alberdi, 2 Federico Mendez, 3 Martin Scelzo, 4 Alejandro Allub, 5 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Rolando Martin, 7 Santiago Phelan, 8 Gonzalo Longo Elia, 9 Agustin Pichot, 10 Jose Cilley, 11 Diego Albanese, 12 Lisandro Arbizu (c), 13 Diego Giannantonio, 14 Octavio Bartolucci, 15 Felipe Contepomi
Reserves:  Agustin Canalda, Julio Garcia
Unused:  Hugo Dande, Nicolas Fernandez Miranda, Juan Fernandez Miranda, German Llanes, Facundo Soler

Attendance:  18216
Referee:  Fleming j.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Latham C.E. 4, Roff J.W.C. 2, Williams R.W. 2, Connors M. 1
Conv:  Roff J.W.C. 4

Argentina
Pen K.:  Cilley J.L. 2

Tonga 0 New Zealand 102

The All Blacks celebrated their first outing of the century with a century of points, overwhelming Tonga 101-0 in a glittering performance at North Harbour Stadium, Albany, on Friday night.

It was a magical start to Wayne Smith's international coaching career, as the rejuvenated All Blacks ran in 15 tries and produced a quality of rugby which electrified the fans and devastated the opposition.

The defeat was the heaviest in Tonga's history, surpassing their defeat at the hands of England during RWC'99, and only the fourth time the Tongans have been shut-out since 1924.

It was a sensational night for debutantes, with lock Troy Flavell picking up three tries before half-time, replacement fullback Doug Howlett scoring twice in the second half and substitute number eight Filo Tiatia also dotting down.

It didn't seem possible that Tony Brown could maintain his test average of 31 points a game, but he sure did, compiling 32 points, including a try.

He was in such vintage form that the All Black management left their top-ranking first-five Andrew Mehrtens untroubled on the reserves bench for the full 80 minutes.

New skipper Todd Blackadder, chuffed with the outcome, said the players had studied the World Cup game against Tonga (when the All Blacks laboured to a 45-9 win) and were determined to get on the front foot from the start.

They sure did.  The All Blacks were ahead 29-nil after 19 minutes, 48-nil in front at half-time and hit the century mark with two minutes left on the clock.

"It's only a start," said Blackadder, never one to get too carried away.  "We're not kidding ourselves, there are tougher matches ahead.  But tonight we'll celebrate because this was a great team effort."

"We wanted to go out and get on the front foot, both with the ball and in defence, and I think we did that.  But it was only one step.  We've got a long way to go.  We respected Tonga but we wanted to play for 80 minutes."

He said the new management and the introduction of new players meant the game felt like everyone had been making their first appearance.

Beleaguered Tongan captain Elisi Vunipola could only admire the All Black effort.

"Their fitness came out on top from the start and they were a yard in front of us, that was the game," he said.

Flavell was the toast of the North Harbour crowd in the first half, marking his All Black debut in sensational style with the team's first try in the sixth minute and two more in the 34th and 38th minutes.

His second was an absolute knockout.  Suddenly operating in midfield, he burst between two startled defenders and nonchalantly ran around the fullback to dive across beside the posts.

Howlett had an even more stunning entry into the All Black scene.  Entering the action at half-time as a replacement for Christian Cullen, who'd twinged a hamstring, Howlett sprinted 50 metres to dot down behind the posts a mere 26 seconds after the restart.

The All Blacks played fabulous rugby.  The backs flourished because the forwards kept powering up the middle, committing the Tongans, who must have thought they were caught up in a black tornado.

Out back, it was great to see players like Cullen, Alama Ieremia and Tana Umaga bursting on to passes, something seriously absent from the All Blacks' game throughout the World Cup campaign.

While Flavell probably merited the player of the night trophy because of his three tries, Umaga was no less impressive, shattering the Tongan defence every time he handled the ball.

Centre Ieremia was unrecognisable as the ponderous individual at the World Cup.  He was all aggression and thrust and forced countless turnovers with his punishing tackles.

Justin Marshall was mighty at halfback, Brown the perfect general at flyhalf, Pita Alatini dazzling on his feet at second-five, Jonah Lomu dynamic on the wing (committing up to five players every time he handled the ball) and Cullen a dynamo at fullback.

Up front, the Tongans were completely overwhelmed, but a shadow of the side that had held the All Blacks to 16-9 half-time score at the World Cup in Bristol eight months earlier.

Hooker Mark Hammett continued his outstanding form of the Super 12, props Craig Dowd and Greg Somerville created the go-forward that was so important, Blackadder did the hard graft, Reuben Thorne was unrivalled at the back of the lineout and the loosies plus Flavell had a ball.

Only a series of forward passes, which cost probably four tries, marred an otherwise classic performance by the All Blacks.

The Scots, who would have watched the game from New Plymouth, must be wondering what on earth's in store for them at Dunedin next Saturday!

Man of the Match:  It could easily go to Tana Umaga for the chaos he caused among the Tongan defence every time he received the ball, but sentimentally it has to go to lock Troy Flavell who in his test debut scored three tries, equalling the New Zealand test record for a forward.

Villain of the match:  None of those.  It was an amazingly trouble-free match.  No yellow or red cards, hardly any penalties at all really.

Moment of the match:  Had to be Troy Flavell's second try when he made like a centre, exploding through the Tongan defence and leaving the forlorn fullback stranded as he raced on to the goalposts.  Quite a night for the kid from North Harbour, really.

The Teams:

Tonga:  1 Ngalu Taufo'ou, 2 Fe'ao Vunipola, 3 Tevita Taumoepeau, 4 Isi Fatani, 5 Ben Hur Kivalu, 6 Jonathan Koloi, 7 Henry Saafi, 8 Va'a Toloke, 9 Doug Havea, 10 'Elisi Vunipola, 11 David Tiueti, 12 Siua Taumalolo, 13 Sam Alatini, 14 Semi Taupeaafe, 15 Tauna'holo Taufahema
Reserves:  Ta'u Fainga'anuku, Latiume Maka, Loni Manako, Sione Tuipulotu
Unused:  Feleti Fakaongo, Fakataha Molitika, 'Epafasi Ta'ufo'ou

New Zealand:  1 Greg Somerville, 2 Mark Hammett, 3 Craig Dowd, 4 Troy Flavell, 5 Todd Blackadder (c), 6 Josh Kronfeld, 7 Reuben Thorne, 8 Taine Randell, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Tony Brown, 11 Jonah Lomu, 12 Pita Alatini, 13 Alama Ieremia, 14 Tana Umaga, 15 Christian Cullen
Reserves:  Doug Howlett, Filo Tiatia, Kees Meeuws, Anton Oliver, Scott Robertson
Unused:  Byron Kelleher, Andrew Mehrtens

Attendance:  20000
Referee:  Lander s.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  Troy Flavell 3, Tana Umaga 2, Doug Howlett 2, Alama Ieremia, Christian Cullen, Mark Hammett, Todd Blackadder, Josh Kronfeld, Filo Tiatia, Justin Marshall and Tony Brown
Conv:  Tony Brown 12
Pen K.:  Tony Brown 1

Canada 18 South Africa 51

In East London, South Africa unveiled their new-look rugby with a scintillating 51-18 win over Canada on Saturday night.

Yet while the Waverley Park thrashing kicked off a tough international season for the Boks in fine style, the lessons learned were few against a Canadian side where guts were plenty but options few.

The local fans, witnessing their first Springbok Test in these parts, were given a prime display of running rugby, as Andre Vos' charges kept their promise to entertain after a disappointing finish at last year's World Cup.

The win eclipsed the 20-0 scoreline in the only other game between these two sides and gave the Boks some much needed confidence ahead of next week's Test against England in Pretoria.

However, where the Boks were expecting a tough, physical match, they found none.  Canada's transformation into a running side has left them bereft of physical presence up front to unsettle their more fancied opponents.

The Boks powered up to a 27-3 lead in as many minutes as they stunned the Canadians with controlled running rugby.  Dynamo Breyton Paulse, already a household name in the Western Cape became a folk legend in the Eastern Cape when he sprinted down three quarters of the field to open the scoring untouched by any red jersey.

His opening try was followed by another 10 minutes later before the Boks added two more through Robbie Kempson (a drive close to the line) and Robbie Fleck.

The Boks, however, were guilty of a bit too much elaboration and allowed the Canadians to capitalise on their mistakes.  Al Charron dived over in the first half, with Winston Stanley crossing in the second to give the scoreline a decent ring to it.

In all, six Boks crossed for eight tries, although the scoreline could have been greater if Braam van Straaten's kicking was more on target.

Andre Vos added a try to his CV in his first game as captain but a lot of work still needs to be done to refine the playing style.

The Boks have begun in style, but unless a number of their mistakes are ironed out, the going will be much tougher against England next weekend, and the points scored will mean nothing at all.

Man of the match:  In a losing cause Canadian No.9 Morgan Williams proved just why everyone around the world is raving about him.  He wasn't afraid to take the likes of Andre Venter and Krynauw Otto on and was always looking to spark something for the visitors.  An argument can also be made for Cats skipper Rassie Erasmus or Stormers flyer Breyton Paulse.

Moment of the match:  When new Bok skipper Andre Vos crashed over for a try in his former hometown.  It was just reward for the likeable captain and capped off a satisfactory performance for him in his new role.

Villain of the match:  Considering what happened the last time South Africa played Canada -- this match was a rather tame affair!  But, Springbok centre Robbie Fleck, who was devastating on attack, spoilt a good night out with a silly trip on Morgan Williams.  It wasn't necessary in the context of the match.

The teams:

Canada:  1 John Thiel, 2 Pat Dunkley, 3 Kevin Tkachuk, 4 Alan Charron (c), 5 John Tait, 6 Dan Baugh, 7 Ryan Banks, 8 Phil Murphy, 9 Morgan Williams, 10 Scott Stewart, 11 Fred Asselin, 12 Kyle Nichols, 13 Nik Witkowski, 14 Sean Fauth, 15 Winston Stanley
Reserves:  Mark Irvine, Ed Knaggs, Duane Major
Unused:  Gregor Dixon, Nick Milau, Harry Toews

South Africa:  1 Robbie Kempson, 2 Charl Marais, 3 Cobus Visagie, 4 Selborne Boome, 5 Krynauw Otto, 6 Johan Erasmus, 7 Andre Venter, 8 Andre Vos (c), 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Braam Van Straaten, 11 Breyton Paulse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Robbie Fleck, 14 Pieter Rossouw, 15 Percy Montgomery
Reserves:  John Smit, Thinus Delport, Corne Krige, Willie Meyer, Japie Mulder, Chester Williams
Unused:  Dan Van Zyl

Attendance:  12000
Referee:  Alan Lewis (Irl)

Points Scorers:

Canada
Tries:  Charron A.J. 1, Stanley W.U. 1
Conv:  Stewart D.S. 1
Pen K.:  Stewart D.S. 2

South Africa
Tries:  Barry De W. 1, Fleck R.F. 2, Kempson R.B. 1, Montgomery P.C. 1, Paulse B.J. 2, Vos A.N. 1
Conv:  Van Straaten A.J.J. 4
Pen K.:  Van Straaten A.J.J. 1

Ireland 83 United States 3

Center Mike Mullins scored a hattrick of tries as Ireland swamped the United States 83-3 in the second match of their American tour here Saturday.

Halfback Guy Easterby added two tries in his first international for the Irish.  His brother Simon Easterby and Geordan Murphy also had two tries as Ireland posted a national record 13 tries.

Consistently splitting the US defense, hard-running Mullins crossed the American line once in the first half and twice in the second.  The Young Munster center was named man of the match for his efforts.

"It was good to get a big win after last week's disappointment against Argentina," Mullins said.  "The forwards played very well today."

US coach Duncan Hall tried to offer his players some encouragement in the wake of the disaster, which was played out before a ground record crowd of 5,200 Manchester's Singer Park.

"I told the team Ireland payed us a compliment by continuing to play rugby after building a big lead," said Hall, the former Australian international who signed a two-year contract to guide the US in February.  "We'll have to get some rest and then pull back together quickly before we go down to play the Island teams."

Ireland rolled to a 31-3 halftime lead, scoring five tries to Grant Wells' lone penalty goal for the hosts.

Simon Easterby scored just minutes into the game for Ireland, but Wells countered with a three-pointer before fullback Geordan Murphy and Mullins opened the floodgates with converted tries at 17 and 19 minutes, making the count 19-3.

Again scoring in rapid succession, Guy Easterby and Malcolm O'Kelly scored at 28 and 31 minutes, respectively, as the backpedaling American defense was consistently outnumbered.  In a typical sequence, the US looked to have stopped Ireland several times on Easterby's score, only for supporting Irish players to continue the downfield run.

Unlike last week's 34-25 comeback win over Canada, when the US racked up 27 points in the second half, this week's contest grew more one-sided over the second 40 minutes.  Mullins sandwiched tries at 42 and 48 minutes around a Paul Wallace score, all three converted by Ronan O'Gara to make the count 52-3.  Ireland's goalkicker finished with 12 points, connecting on six of 11 attempts.  Replacement David Humphreys converted one of two attempts.

Ireland scored five more tries down the stretch, while the US twice failed to convert strong scoring opportunities into points.

Ireland meet Canada next week in Toronto to complete their three-match tour, while the United States are idle until a July 1 Pacific Rim championship match against Fiji.

The Teams:

Ireland:  1 Paul Wallace, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 Justin Fitzpatrick, 4 Jeremy Davidson, 5 Malcolm O'Kelly, 6 Simon Easterby, 7 David Wallace, 8 Eric Miller, 9 Guy Easterby, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 11 Tyrone Howe, 12 Rob Henderson, 13 Mike Mullins, 14 Jimmy Topping, 15 Geordan Murphy
Reserves:  Bob Casey, David Humphreys, Marcus Horan, Kevin Maggs, Frankie Sheahan, Andy Ward
Unused:  Peter Stringer

United States:  1 Ray Lehner, 2 Robbie Flynn, 3 John McBride, 4 Philippe Farner, 5 Matt Kane, 6 Kort Schubert, 7 Don Younger, 8 Dave Hodges (c), 9 Kevin Dalzell, 10 Grant Wells, 11 Andre Blom, 12 Phillip Eloff, 13 Juan Grobler, 14 Malakai Delai, 15 Kurt Shuman
Reserves:  John Burke, Joe Clayton, Tom Kelleher, Kirk Khasigian, Link Wilfley
Unused:  Ryan Fried, John McGeachy

Referee:  Thomas c.

Points Scorers:

Ireland
Tries:  Easterby S.H. 2, Easterby G. 2, Humphreys D.G. 1, Mullins M.J.M. 3, O'Kelly M.E. 1, Topping J.A. 1, Wallace P.S. 1, Murphy G.E.A. 2
Conv:  Humphreys D.G. 1, O'Gara R. 8

United States
Pen K.:  Wells G. 1

Canada 25 United States 34

The USA overcame a 13 point half time deficit to defeat Canada 34-25 in the 2000 Epson Cup at Manchester, NH, vaulting the eagles to first place in the Pacific Rim tournament.

It was physical Canadian side that dominated the scrums and loose play in the first half, but the boot of Eagles flyhalf Grant Wells made all the difference on the day, scoring 14 points on four conversions, a penalty and an injury time dropgoal.

Eagles coach, Australian Duncan Hall, was impressed by his young squad's turnaround, but admits he was a little bit suprised that they pulled it off.

"To turn around a 13 point deficit at halftime in a test match is pretty tough, against one of your major opponents ... forever," said Hall, who was at the helm for only his second match.

Hall would not single out one person on the side that really stepped up and took control, preferring to heap his praise on the team effort.  But the play of captain Dave Hodges did garner perhaps a little bit of extra praise as he noted the play of the Brigend 8 man, who came off three times for treatment to a broken nose.

"He's a great leader, and it's fantastic to have him in the team, and as captain," he said.

The Eagles opened the scoring at the 7 minute mark with fullback Kurt Shuman diving under the posts from a pass at the base of a ruck.  Hall converted for the 7-0 lead.

Canada responded with hooker Harry Toews rumbling across from five metres which flyhalf Scott Stewart converted to even the score at 7 eleven minutes in.

Canada had troubles with both their throw ins and some of the rulings by Samoan referee Anetere'a Aiolupotea, resulting in a number of turnovers by the Maple Leafs.

Despite that Scott Stewart kicked penalties of 33 and 45 metres as well as converting a Nik Witkowski try to take a 20-7 lead into the locker room.

According to Canada coach Dave Clark, who once coached his eagles counterpart, the score should have been a lot higher, but missed opportunities were to blame.

Choosing his words carefully the disappointed Australian said, "We should have been far more precise in the first half.  Instead of it being 20 points in the first half it should have been 37 or 47.  Of course we had enough ball to do that."

He added that facing the wind in the second half didn't help.  "We would turn the ball over to them, we did that in the first half, and they put the ball behind us."

The US comeback started following a Ryan Banks try off a ramble up the sideline that he touched down in the corner.  Stewart missed the conversion and that is when the floodgates opened.

Tries by replacements Robbie Flynn(hooker) and prop Joe Clayton, both converted by Wells made the score 25-24 USA, and memories of the '99 Epson Cup victory by the Eagles began to flood back to the Canadians.

The crowd chanted USA as outside centre Juan Grobler scored a try under the posts in the 73rd minute (Wells converted) following a Canadian penalty and ensuing maul to give the Eagles a 6 point buffer.

Canada pressed well into injury time with one sequence going at least ten phases of recycled ball with no way of solving the tight American defence.  Then US wing Malakai Delai kicked through twice on looping passes to wing Fred Asselin and cleared the ball down to the Canadian five metre line.  A knock on by Canada in front of their posts gave the Eagles a scrum, which Wells used to slot an easy 17 metre drop goal to cement the victory.

Captain Dave Hodges was not happy with the way his squad played in the first half, saying "I thought we had a really disappointing first half.  I thought their forwards definitely won it.  They took it to us time and time again, crossing the gain line.

"I felt that that was one of the major things that if we could shore that up, not give the 50/50 pass, and just play simple rugby."

Canada now get on a plane for 20 hour flight to South Africa to take on the Sprinkboks in a week's time, while the USA stay in Manchester to await Ireland for one off test June 10th.

The teams:

Canada:  1 Garth Cooke, 2 Harry Toews, 3 Duane Major, 4 Alan Charron (c), 5 John Tait, 6 Dan Baugh, 7 John Hutchinson, 8 Ryan Banks, 9 Nick Milau, 10 Scott Stewart, 11 Fred Asselin, 12 Kyle Nichols, 13 Nik Witkowski, 14 Sean Fauth, 15 Winston Stanley
Reserves:  Gregor Dixon, Ed Knaggs, Phil Murphy, Kevin Tkachuk, Jason Verstraten

United States:  1 Ray Lehner, 2 Kirk Khasigian, 3 John McBride, 4 Philippe Farner, 5 Tom Kelleher, 6 Kort Schubert, 7 Don Younger, 8 Dave Hodges (c), 9 Kevin Dalzell, 10 Grant Wells, 11 Andre Blom, 12 Phillip Eloff, 13 Juan Grobler, 14 Malakai Delai, 15 Kurt Shuman
Reserves:  John Burke, Joe Clayton, Robbie Flynn

Referee:  Aiolupotea a.

Points Scorers:

Canada
Tries:  Banks R. 1, Toews H. 1, Witkowski N. 1
Conv:  Stewart D.S. 2
Pen K.:  Stewart D.S. 2

United States
Tries:  Clayton J. 1, Flynn R. 1, Grobler J. 1, Shuman K.D. 1
Conv:  Wells G. 4
Pen K.:  Wells G. 1
Drop G.:  Wells G. 1

Tonga 26 Japan 25

Tonga overhauled a six-point deficit in the second half to beat defending champions Japan 26-25 in the Pacific Rim rugby championship on Saturday.

"We expected a very fast game from the Japanese team," said Tonga's captain Elisi Vunipola, after his team's first win in the six-team round robin competition, following defeats in their first two games.

"What we have improved from the last two games is the team's discipline.  "I think our discipline has improved a little bit, although we gave away a few penalties in the second half.  We can improve for the next game," he said.

Flanker Kisione Ahotaeiloa put Tonga 5-0 ahead with a long solo run after Epafasi Taufoou intercepted a poor Japanese pass.  Taunaholo Taufahema converted to make it 7-0.

Scrum half Sioeli Nau scored a converted try in the 22nd minute, with right winger Aisea Kaufusi adding another three minutes later.

The Japanese side, who had also lost their first two games, to Fiji and the United States, put their first points on the board via the boot of Toru Kurihara, kicking two penalties in the 14th minute and in injury time at the end of the first half.

The Japanese got off to a flying start in the second half as tries by scrum half Mamoru Ito in the 44th minute, followed in quick succession by Kurihara in the 54th and left winger Terunori Masuho in the 61st minute had the Tongans floundering.

However, leading 25-19 in the 67th minute, Kurihara's 10-minute penalty for offside turned the game, as the Japanese temporarily lost their shape.

Tonga seized the opportunity as Benhur Kivalu's try to make it 24-25 was gleefully converted by Taufahema, securing Tonga's first victory by just one point.

"This win is very important to our chances for the championship," said Tongan coach Tuivaita Ueleni.

Meanwhile, Japan's head coach Seiji Hirao said:  "It was a very close game, although we couldn't win in the end.  We have two more games, I hope we will be able to win (them)."

Japanese team captain Masuho said:  "I feel our young players are improving game by game.  We are just struggling to win a game.  We lost our concentration when Kurihara was penalized, because of a lack of communication."

Japan will take on Samoa next Saturday in an away game, while Tonga will face Samoa at home on June 24.

The Teams:

Tonga:  1 Ta'u Fainga'anuku, 2 Latiume Maka, 3 Tevita Taumoepeau, 4 Isi Fatani, 5 Ben Hur Kivalu, 6 Feleti Fakaongo, 7 Kati Tu'ipulotu, 8 Kisione Ahota'e'iloa, 9 Sioeli Nau, 10 'Elisi Vunipola (c), 11 'Aisea Havili, 12 David Tiueti, 13 'Epafasi Ta'ufo'ou, 14 Solomone Matangi, 15 Tauna'holo Taufahema
Reserves:  Christopher Hala'ufi, Viliami Ma'asi, Fakataha Molitika, 'Epeli Taione

Japan:  1 Toshikazu Nakamichi, 2 Shin Hasegawa, 3 Kohei Oguchi, 4 Naoya Okubo, 5 Hiroyuki Tanuma, 6 Masahiro Kurokawa, 7 Hiroshi Sugawara, 8 Kazuya Koizumi, 9 Mamoru Ito, 10 Syotaro Oonishi, 11 Terunori Masuho (c), 12 Hideki Nanba, 13 Akira Yoshida, 14 Michinori Oda, 15 Toru Kurihara
Reserves:  Yasuhiko Iwama, Takuo Kawasaki, Takeshi Nozawa, Yuji Sonoda

Referee:  Kuklinski b.

Points Scorers:

Tonga
Tries:  Ahota'e'iloa K. 1, Havili A. 1, Kivalu D.B.H. 1, Nau S. 1
Conv:  Taufahema T. 3

Japan
Tries:  Ito M. 1, Kurihara T. 1, Masuho T. 1
Conv:  Kurihara T. 2
Pen K.:  Kurihara T. 2

Fiji 17 Samoa 31

Samoa kicked off their Pacific Rim campaign with a 31-17 win over a passionless Fiji at Apia Park Saturday.

Tanner Vili opened the scoring for the Samoans in the first minute with a penalty, followed soon after by the first try of the match as a neat interception by Filemu saw Trevor Leota feeding winger Lome Faatau with an in-pass for an easy touchdown.

Nicky Little replied with a penalty for the Fijians, but a Samoan scrum towards the end of the half saw Tom Curtis scramble over from close in to put the Samoans ahead 15-3 at half-time.

Fiji arrived here full of confidence, having won both their games in the Pacific Rim tournament.

In contrast, Samoa were playing their first game of the tournament with a youthful team that coach John Boe called an "unknown quantity" after nine first choice players withdrew due to overseas contractual commitments.

Yet it was the inexperienced Samoans who looked the more assured and better organised team in the first half, particularly in defence.

Commanding midfield performances from Vaaiga Tuigamala and Too Vaega made it difficult for the Fijians to feed their wingers, with Marika Vunibaka seeing little of the ball.

"I was very pleased because the game was won through courage and passion and that was what we had to do to keep out an extremely good Fijian side," said John Boe.

Samoa extended their lead early in the second half through tries by Semo Sititi after a strong drive by Trevor Leota, followed shortly by Isaac Feaunati striding over after Fiji mis-cued a lineout throw-in to the back close to their tryline.

Down 25-3 in the last quarter, Fiji rallied themselves for an effort which saw them swing the Samoan defence down both flanks before Isaia Rasila powered through unchallenged.

A drive saw captain Simon Raiwula score a consolation try, but he was disappointed that such ball retention had been so sporadic during the match.

"We didn't retain the ball and that was why we lost," said Raiwula.  "You can't really put your game together if you are not retaining possession," he said, referring to several incidents where the ball had been spilled in the tackle.

The Fijians also showed a decided lack of commitment, only rallying briefly when the game was out of reach.  "I think they played with a lot more authority than we did right throughout the game," said Fiji coach Greg Smith.  "I thought they were a 20-point better team than we were," he said.

Asked whether the crisis in Fiji affected his players psychologically, Smith said, "I wouldn't use that as an excuse."

The Teams:

Fiji:  1 Paula Biu, 2 Isaia Rasila, 3 Joeli Veitayaki, 4 Emori Katalau, 5 Simon Raiwalui (c), 6 Sailosi Naiteqe, 7 Jope Tuikabe, 8 Inoke Male, 9 Jacob Rauluni, 10 Nicky Little, 11 Norman Ligairi, 12 Saimoni Rokini, 13 Kameli Tilalati, 14 Marika Vunibaka, 15 Jonetani Waqa
Reserves:  Peniasi Damu, Alifereti Doviverata, Sirilo Lala Ragata, Jolame Nadolo, Ilaitia Tuisese

Referee:  Iwashita s.

Points Scorers:

Fiji
Tries:  Rasila I. 1, Raiwalui S.V. 1
Conv:  Little N.T. 2
Pen K.:  Little N.T. 1

Argentina 34 Ireland 23

The touring Ireland side, seeking to settle an old score with their World Cup conquerors, went down fighting to Argentina 32-25 in an international friendly oin Buenos Aires.

Warren Gatland's men led three times in the second half as they attempted to heal that old wound inflicted by the Pumas in Lens, France, last winter.

But the Irish wilted late on, and tries from Northampton prop Martin Scelzo and right-wing Octavio Bartolucci saw Argentina, under new coach Marcelo Loffreda, run out relatively comfortable winners.

Ireland's left-wing Justin Bishop and centre Rob Henderson both crossed after the break as the lead see-sawed between the sides, and Ireland led 18-17 when fly-half David Humphreys -- having missed three conversions and a penalty -- finally landed a penalty.

But Ireland, who will complete their three-Test tour with matches against the USA and Canada, faded badly.

Pumas fly-half Gonzalo Quesada missed an early conversion attempt after full-back Ignacio Carleto had claimed the opening try but then found his range to contribute 19 points with five penalties and two conversions.

Argentina made the early running, and the Irish had to ride their luck.

Malcolm O'Kelly charged down an attempted dropped goal by Quesada.  Then swift handling left right-wing Bartolucci with a clear run to the line only for the referee to blow up for crossing and award a penalty to the tourists.

The Pumas broke the deadlock in the 14th minute with a try from full-back Carleto.  The Irish scrum, under increasing pressure, was turned -- and Pumas captain and scrum-half Agustin Pichot took a short pass from number eight Gonzalo Longo before delivering an inch-perfect kick to the corner where Carleto touched down.

Quesada missed with the conversion.

Ireland stunned the Pumas by drawing level with an O'Kelly try in the 21st minute.  A powerful drive from number eight Anthony Foley stretched the home defence, and the towering St Mary's College lock O'Kelly took advantage to power over from close range.  Humphreys was off target with his attempted conversion.

Ireland conceded a 25th-minute penalty on their 10-metre line.  But Quesada's kick was right of the posts, and the fly-half was way off target with a drop-goal attempt.

Five minutes from the break Quesada dropped Pichot's pass in his 22, and an infringement in the ensuing ruck gave Humphreys a straightforward chance to kick the tourists ahead from in front of the posts -- but he missed to the left.

Quesada landed a penalty from just outside the Irish 22 to give the Pumas an 8-5 lead.

Ireland regained the lead seven minutes into the second half with a sparkling try created by right-wing Shane Horgan and scored by Bishop.

Horgan appeared in the line outside Humphreys and punched a big hole in the Pumas' defence before off loading to full-back Peter McKenna who sent Bishop over in the corner.

Humphreys was off target with the conversion, but Ireland were ahead for the first time at 10-8.

But their lead was shortlived as Quesada landed a penalty to edge the Pumas back in front 11-10.

Unruffled Ireland swiftly regained the initiative with Henderson storming over for a try in the corner with the home defence in tatters.

Humphreys again failed to tag on the extra two points, but the Irish led The Pumas were inches away from reclaiming the lead minutes later.  Carleto burst past McKenna and forced his way over the line but he had put a foot in touch and the score was ruled out.

Quesada pulled the Pumas back to within a point with his third penalty and kicked a fourth 10 minutes from time to give the hosts a 17-15 lead.

But with seven minutes remaining the Irish were awarded a penalty in front of the posts and, having missed three conversions and a penalty, Humphreys finally broke his duck to kick Ireland ahead again at 18-17.

But then Ireland wilted as the Pumas prepared for the kill.

The Teams:

Argentina:  1 Mauricio Reggiardo, 2 Federico Mendez, 3 Martin Scelzo, 4 Alejandro Allub, 5 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Rolando Martin, 7 Santiago Phelan, 8 Gonzalo Longo Elia, 9 Agustin Pichot, 10 Gonzalo Quesada, 11 Diego Albanese, 12 Juan Fernandez Miranda, 13 Eduardo Simone, 14 Octavio Bartolucci, 15 Ignacio Corletto
Reserves:  Manuel Contepomi
Unused:  Agustin Canalda, Jose Cilley, Fernando Diaz Alberdi, Nicolas Fernandez Miranda, German Llanes, Lucas Ostiglia

Ireland:  1 Peter Clohessy, 2 Keith Wood, 3 John Hayes, 4 Mick Galwey, 5 Malcolm O'Kelly, 6 Simon Easterby, 7 Anthony Foley, 8 David Wallace, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 David Humphreys, 11 Shane Horgan, 12 Rob Henderson, 13 Kevin Maggs, 14 Justin Bishop, 15 Peter McKenna
Reserves:  Mike Mullins, Justin Fitzpatrick, Ronan O'Gara, Andy Ward
Unused:  Bob Casey, Simon Easterby, Frankie Sheahan

Attendance:  25000
Referee:  Watson a.

Points Scorers:

Argentina
Tries:  Bartolucci O. 1, Corletto I. 1, Scelzo M. 1
Conv:  Quesada G. 2
Pen K.:  Quesada G. 5

Ireland
Tries:  Henderson R.A.J. 1, O'Kelly M.E. 1, Bishop J.P. 2
Pen K.:  Humphreys D.G. 1